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US, NATO mark close of war in Afghanistan

The war in Afghanistan, fought for 13 bloody years and still raging, came to a formal end Sunday with a quiet flag-lowering ceremony in Kabul that marked the transition of the fighting from U.S.-led combat troops to the country’s own security forces.

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US, NATO mark close of war in Afghanistan

By Lynne O’Donnell
Published 6:31 p.m. CT Dec. 28, 2014

U.S. Gen. John Campbell, left, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, and Command Sgt. Maj. Delbert Byers open the Resolute Support flag during a ceremony at ISAF headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday.(Photo: Massoud Hossaini/AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan – The war in Afghanistan, fought for 13 bloody years and still raging, came to a formal end Sunday with a quiet flag-lowering ceremony in Kabul that marked the transition of the fighting from U.S.-led combat troops to the country’s own security forces.

In front of a small, hand-picked audience at the headquarters of the NATO mission, the green-and-white flag of the International Security Assistance Force was ceremonially rolled up and sheathed, and the flag of the new international mission called Resolute Support was hoisted.

U.S. Gen. John Campbell, commander of ISAF, commemorated the 3,500 international soldiers killed on Afghan battlefields and praised the country’s army for giving him confidence that they are able to take on the fight alone.

“Resolute Support will serve as the bedrock of an enduring partnership” between NATO and Afghanistan, he said. “The road before us remains challenging, but we will triumph.”

Beginning Jan. 1, the new mission will provide training and support for Afghanistan’s military, with the U.S. accounting for almost 11,000 of the 13,500 members of the residual force.

“Thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, our combat mission in Afghanistan is ending, and the longest war in American history is coming to a responsible conclusion,” U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement.

Fort Polk soldiers and National Guardsmen from Central Louisiana were involved in operations in Afghanistan during multiple deployments since the War on Terrorism began.

Soldiers of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, were involved in three separate deployments, and they were back at Fort Polk from the final deployment by mid-March. Other units from Fort Polk also served in Afghanistan, and Fort Polk’s Joint Readiness Training Center prepared troops from other bases for action in Afghanistan.

More than 20 soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team were killed in Afghanistan, many of them by roadside bombs.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who took office in September, signed bilateral security agreements with Washington and NATO allowing the ongoing military presence. The move has led to a spike in violence, with the Taliban claiming it as an excuse to step up operations aimed at destabilizing his government.

ISAF was set up after the U.S.-led invasion as an umbrella for the coalition of about 50 nations that provided troops and took responsibility for security across the country. It ends with 2,224 American soldiers killed, according to an Associated Press tally.

The mission, which was initially aimed at toppling the Taliban and rooting out al-Qaida following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, peaked at 140,000 troops in 2010. Obama ordered a surge to drive the insurgents out of strategically important regions, notably in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, where the Taliban had their capital from 1996 to 2001.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid called Sunday’s event a “defeat ceremony” and said the insurgents’ fight would continue “until there is not one foreign soldier on Afghan soil and we have established an Islamic state.”

Obama recently expanded the role of U.S. forces remaining in the country, allowing them to extend their counterterrorism operations to the Taliban, as well as al-Qaida, and to provide ground and air support for Afghan forces.

Town Talk staff contributed to this story.

AFGHAN SENTIMENT MIXED

•Afghans have mixed feelings about the drawdown of foreign troops. With the deteriorating security situation, many believe the troops are needed to back up the Afghan effort to bring peace after more than three decades of continual war.

•“At least in the past 13 years we have seen improvements in our way of life — freedom of speech, democracy, the people generally better off financially,” 42-year-old shop keeper Gul Mohammad said.

•But the soldiers are still needed “at least until our own forces are strong enough, while our economy strengthens, while our leaders try to form a government,” he said.